Godfatherbob

Hey,

I've been looking at various schools, and in terms of location and academics, Brown is definitely among my top choices. I'm interested though, in knowing a little more about:

1) The dorms. Are there freshman singles? Suites with singles? (Seriously doubt it, but anything is possible ) Is there somewhere that shows pictures of them?

2) Providence. I've seen pictures and looked at the satellite via google maps (pretty cool way to get a ball park idea of the surrounding area of a school), but how would people who have actually lived there describe it? Urban? Suburban? Is there a city center nearby? Am I in the middle nowhere?

Thanks, guys

ClaySoul

No singles for freshman, unless you have a need for it (not you want it)
The dorms for frosh are actually really good compared to most frosh dorms. Where it breaks down is when you get older and you realize "hey, this sucks," because upperclassman housing isn't much better at all. At a lot of schools it sucks for freshman and improves dramatically for upper classmen. It's pretty much acceptable but not great for all years here.

Providence is urban. It's a small city. I think there's a lot to do, and I don't even get off the hill that much.

gladlybeyond

Freshman dorms are decent. Some of the Pembroke rooms are actually quite large. They have a picture of an Andrews room on the virtual tour:
Brown University Virtual Tour

Like ClaySoul said, Providence is a small city, but it's not middle-of-nowhere. Going down College Hill leads downtown. Using RIPTA is really convenient for exploring places.

kjcastillo1990

I live in Providence, and there's always PLENTY of things to do. Providence is pretty much urban, but has its suburban neighborhoods--East Side would probably be the prettiest . Anyways, in Downtown, there is this huge mall called Providence Place. There's also a lot of nightclubs and other places where concerts take place and stuff. And there's also a ice-skating rink in the middle of Downtown Providence, right next to Kennedy Plaza, which is the RIPTA bus terminal. Thayer St is the place where a lot of college students hang out--there are plenty of cute lil stores and restaurants there. From Providence, you can take a ferry (or drive lol) to Newport if you want, during the summer.

chameli1

are there any single gender dorms at brown? if not, how are the dorms split up, if at all, by gender?

modestmelody

Dorms are split gender by room. There has been an all female halls in years past and they offer requests for that style of housing, but typically the number of participants is very very small (~20) and I'm not sure if the program is currently still sustainable. You can ask for that if it'll make you more comfortable.

wolfmanjack

The third floor of my building is all female. The first isn't so I actually share a bathroom with girls.

btw google maps has the street view option for Providence where you can walk around at street level. much better than satellite.

Here are the dorms: http://reslife.brown.edu/residence_halls/map.html

chameli1

thanks for letting me know; i asked because this is an important issue for my parents, who would prefer me to be in a single gender hall.